Page 37 of Shattered Home

A sly smile spread his lips and he tilted his head mockingly. “You don’t think I can help? What are you doing?”

Shaking my head at the two of them, I realized I really was the one with the plan. “We need his help because he’s been watching the guards for who knows how long, and his knowledge will be our best bet for sneaking around them.”

“And apparently you’ve been watching me.” Leaning forward until he was in my face, he whispered, “I like that.”

This time, I was the one to roll my eyes. This wasn’t the time to flirt or whatever the hell he was doing.

“So, what are we going to do about the guards?” I asked, trying to bring us back on track.

Gently nudging my chin with his fist, Warner smiled. “You leave that to me.”

As he did in all our conversations, he began walking away, dismissing us without a word. “Same time tomorrow night,” he called, strolling cockily through the tents.

Aiden and I stood there for a few moments longer, me watching his retreat, Aiden staring at me like I had grown two heads. Finally, he spoke with disbelief, “I don’t trust that guy, Lessy. We don’t need him; we’ll find another way.”

“There is no other way. And I don’t trust him either, but we need to for a little bit longer. This is our chance, Aiden. We’re taking it.”

Taking a page out of Warner’s book, I began walking back to the tent before Aiden could try to disagree more. I knew he would be silent while we walked and wouldn’t dare wake the twins by discussing this in the tent.

Settled into our sleeping bags, Aiden stared at me, trying to communicate without words. I knew he thought I was being crazy, maybe even reckless. And maybe I was an idiot for believing Warner could help us get out of this hellhole, but we didn’t have any other options. And when Aiden sighed in acceptance, I knew he realized the same.

Chapter Twenty-Three

My ears rang as bone collided with bone. Vex’s knuckles were merely a warning shot against my ribs. I knew he could hit harder, and yet he wasn’t. Maybe it was because we had just started, or maybe it was because he was trying a different tactic tonight. Whatever it might be, my teeth clenched against the pain.

The only saving grace through these nights was that Aiden was spared the pain. He had spent who knows how many nights at the hands of this monster, and now it was my turn. However, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could last.

We had our nightly meeting with Warner tonight and I knew I was going to push to move the date of the plan up. Aiden and Warner had been biding their time, wanting everything to be perfect, but I couldn’t handle this any longer.

“I’m going to show you some photos now. Tell me if you recognize them. And if you don’t,” he chuckled cruelly, “well, you know what happens.”

Biting my lip until blood pooled in my mouth, I tried to stave off the tears. In the past week, since my first night in this cold room, I noticed that Vex’s smile grew when the tears started. He truly was a sadist.

Sitting back in the chair he slid into the room each night, he pulled a stack of photos out of a bag near his feet. I couldn’t see any of them clearly, but they all looked to be professional headshots.

The first photo Vex showed was of an older man, probably close to seventy or eighty. White hair dotted his scalp sparsely. He had kind, brown eyes. And I didn’t recognize him at all.

Vex waited for an answer but when none came, he tsked at me, shaking his head sadly. “Alessia, you need to give me something.”

I wasn’t prepared when his body swung forward, barely leaving the seat, his fist connecting with my jaw. My head swung to the right, blood spitting from my mouth.

“Next one.” Vex pulled the next photo out, another older man.

There was an older woman, a young man, two young women. I didn’t recognize any of them and after each photo, another part of my body was pummeled. By the time Vex reached the last photo, the tears were streaming down my face, unable to be held back any longer.

“One last chance,” Vex said and I stared through swollen eyes at the picture.

This one was a man close to my dad’s age with dark skin and dark hair. The headshot painted him with a bright smile and shock coursed through me when I realized I did know this man. In fact, I had spent more time with him than Vex would ever know.

Vex noticed the surprised look on my face and I watched in horror as his face lit up like a kid on Christmas. “Hmm, it seems we may be getting somewhere. What do you know about this man?”

I tried to keep my face blank, not wanting to let him see anything more. I had already slipped up with my initial surprise. Vex stood from the chair, crouching in front of me and invading my space. My back pressed against the confines of the chair, attempting to get away, but there was nowhere else to go.

“We can end this. Tell me what you know about this man and it will all be over.”

I folded my lips, refusing to talk, and Vex sighed in disappointment.

“Nothing? Well, that’s a shame.” He stood and backed away from me, grabbing the photos and his chair, making his way out of the room. My body sagged in relief, thankful tonight was finally over.

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